Railroad base plate



Nov. 4, 1941.

RAILROAD BASE PLATE Filed Sept. 20, 1940 lll HIRE!!!" w. E. WENNER 2,261,317

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAILROAD BASE PLATE Wesley E. Wenner, Allentown, Pa.

Application September 20, 1940, Serial No. 357,640

2 Claims.

This invention relates to railroad base plates and fasteners, and has for one of its objects the production of a simple and efficient railroad base plate which is so constructed as to permit the rail brace to be used upon either side of the rail and efficiently locked in position to firmly secure the rail in place.

A further object of this invention is the production of a simple and efiicient base plate, wherein the rail lock bars may be used without the brace when so desired, to fasten the rail to the plate, the parts being interchangeable upon opposite sides of the rail.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of the improved railroad base plate, the rail being shown in section;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the base plate and brace, a portion of a rail being shown;

Figure 5 is a group perspective view of the rail brace and one of the rail lock bars;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the lock bars.

By referring to the drawing, it will be seen that I designates the base plate which is provided with a recess II into which the base of a rail I2 is adapted to snugly rest. The plate II] may be carried by a tie or other support I3 and may be anchored in position by spikes or other securing elements passing through the apertures I4.

Rail bar-receiving housings I and I5 are carried by the plate I0 upon either side of the recess II and these housings have their inner faces I6 flush with the side edges of the recess II. These inner faces I3 are inclined upwardly and outwardly with respect to the vertical central axis of the rail I2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Because of this structure, the rail may be easily placed within the recess II. This housing I5 is provided with horizontal apertures H, the bottoms of the apertures I! being flush with the upper face I8 of the base of the rail l2, as shown in Figure 3. A rail lock bar I9 of suitable design is fitted in the aperture of the housing I5 and overhangs the base of the rail I2, one end of the bar I9 being beveled, as at 20. A locking bolt and nut lock 2I are carried by the housing I5 for locking the bar I9 in position.

The housing I5 is provided with a horizontal aperture 22 in which is adjustably mounted the rail bar 23, the bottom of the aperture 22 extending flush with the upper face of the base of the rail I2. A lock bolt and nut 24 hold the bar 23 in a set position.

A specially designed rail brace 25 rests upon the base of the rail I2, and engages the under face of the tread of the rail at its junction with the web portion of the rail, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The brace 25 is provided with a recess or notch 26 upon one face thereof and this recess is provided with a bottom wall 21 which is inclined upwardly and inwardly. The inclined wall 21 is engaged by the correspondingly inclined inner end 28 of the rail bar 23. By driving the bar 23 inwardly, the inclined end 28 will slide upon the inclined wall 21 and will force the brace 25 tightly against the rail I2, thereby firmly holding the rail I2 in a braced position.

It should be noted that the recess I I formed in the base plate IIl into which the base of the rail snugly fits, will tend to hold the rail firmly in position and resist shifting movement of the rail with respect to the base plate. Furthermore, the arrangement of the rail brace 25 and the rail bar 23 provide means whereby the brace may be firmly wedged into position and adjusted to provide a tight fit against the under face of the tread of the rail.

It should be understood that if desired the rail bars I9 and 23 may be used for holding the rail in position without using the brace 25 and this may be accomplished without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the brace may be selectively adjusted to be used upon either side of the rail. The housings I5 and I5 are equally spaced with respect to the recess I2 and their inner faces I6 flare outwardly and upwardly permitting of a selective adjustment and also facilitating the placing of the rail in position,

This invention constitutes an improvement upon my previous Patent #2,003,498, issued June 4, 1935, relating to railroad base plates and fasinvention, what is thereof, the socket having an upwardly and inwardly inclined bottom face, and said rail bar having a correspondingly inclined face engaging said inclined bottom of said socket for forcing said brace into firm engagement with the rail as said rail bar is adjusted within the housing.

2. In combination with a rail, a base plate, a rail bar-engaging housing carried by the plate, said housing having an upwardly and outwardly inclined face, a rail bar adjustably mounted within the housing, a rail brace adapted to engage the base of a rail and the under face of the tread of 10 ly and outwardly inc1ined face of said housing.

WESLEY E. WENNER. 

